Rajkot: The southwest monsoon turned more vigorous over Gujarat on Thursday, battering Junagadh and large parts of Saurashtra with torrential rain that brought both relief and chaos.While the widespread showers delighted farmers and replenished reservoirs after months of scorching heat, they also inundated towns and villages, disrupted transport and exposed glaring gaps in civic preparedness.According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, rainfall was recorded in 140 talukas between 6 am and 6 pm, with the heaviest spell concentrated in Junagadh and Gir Somnath districts. Junagadh emerged as the wettest district, with Mangrol being lashed by 245 mm, the highest in the state.The intense rainfall sent rivers and streams in Keshod and surrounding areas into spate, flooded agricultural fields in Gir Somnath and caused water levels in local dams to rise rapidly.Across several towns, roads turned into rivers within hours, exposing poor stormwater drainage systems. In Veraval, knee-deep water submerged busy stretches including MG Road, Satta bazaar and the Tapeshwar Temple area, drawing criticism of the municipality’s pre-monsoon preparations. In Gondal, the Khodiyar Nagar railway underbridge was completely submerged, forcing authorities to halt vehicular movement, while flooded roads near the water gates and sugar mill slowed traffic in Kodinar.The rains also highlighted fragile infrastructure. Road cave-ins in Upleta triggered public resentment, while power outages disrupted normal life in Veraval and Talala. Traffic was further crippled by diversions for the Rajkot-Jetpur six-lane highway near Jamwadi, leading to long queues of vehicles.Commuters bore the brunt of the downpour, navigating waterlogged roads, slush and muck as overflowing drains, flooded underpasses and damaged stretches made driving hazardous.Multiple systems bringing rainAhmedabad: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said conditions remained favourable for monsoon to cover the remaining parts of Gujarat over the next two to three days. A low-pressure area over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Odisha-West Bengal coast, supported by multiple cyclonic circulations and an offshore trough along the west coast, are expected to keep rainfall activity vigorous across the region. On Thursday morning, the northern limit of south-west monsoon was recorded at Porbandar and Vallabh Vidyanagar among others. “Monsoon is likely to cover the entire state soon. We expect good rainfall across the state as several districts will get heavy to very heavy rains,” said a senior Met department official.Downpours predictedAhmedabad: Over the next few days, IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rain with isolated extremely heavy falls very likely in Bharuch, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Porbandar, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Gir Somnath and in Diu, Vadodara, Narmada, Dang and Tapi, Rajkot, Amreli, Anand, Panchmahal, Chhota Udepur, Jamnagar, Botad and Dwarka.
